North America When the team was the Quebec Nordiques, its prospects were good on the ice, but the financial problems that resulted from playing in one of the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) smallest cities became overwhelming. Therefore, before the 1995-96 season the team was sold and moved to Denver, where it became known as the Colorado Avalanche. The payoff was immediate, a championship in the Stanley Cup play-offs. The NHL’s 26 teams each played 82 games from October 1995 to April 1996. The dominant team, by far, was the Detroit Red Wings. Under Coach Scotty Bowman they won 62 games, the most ever by an NHL team, against 13 losses and 7 ties. They lost only 3 of 41 games at home and only 3 of 28 against division rivals. Though best known for offense, they allowed the fewest goals in the league, an average of 2.2 a game. The division winners were Detroit with 131 points, Colorado (104), the Philadelphia Flyers (103), and the Pittsburgh Penguins (102). They led 16 teams into the...